Hi! We're a young married couple making our way in the world. Remember that couple you haven't seen since you had kids? That's us. ;)

We both have full time careers and this blog is our space to share our past and current DIY projects, crafts, recipes, travels, and whatever else we feel like. Two pups add to the hijinx in our misadventures and we wouldn't trade them for anything. Thanks for stopping by and keep in touch!

Welcome leaf peepers!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Jake and I are hosting a holiday party for a diverse group in a couple weeks. We thought it'd be fun to mix it up and do something a little quirky with our holiday mantle. We decided that a mistletoe and peppermints theme would be fun. By "we decided" I mean that we talked about it over dinner at the Olive Garden last Saturday night while he was my captive audience. :)

Grab a mint and come on in!

Max is ready for the holidays too in his little striped sweater from Target. We picked up our cute initialed stockings there too.

Here's a detailed look at the right side of the mantle. If you look closely at the background of this photo (click it to enlarge it), you can also see some of the subtle damask texture of our living room walls.

The red lantern was on our front porch all summer but I knew it'd be perfect on the mantle filled with ornaments we already had, some extra filler ornaments from Target's dollar spot, and clear Christmas lights. I picked up the 'J' ornament at Hobby Lobby (50% off!) during my recent business trip to South Carolina. The tall cylinder vase is filled with wrapped Brach's Star Brites peppermints. Gotta love edible decorations!

Here it is at night. So pretty!

Let's take a look at the left side next.

These glass hurricanes are simply inexpensive vases. I nestled battery operated tea lights into unwrapped peppermint puffs. How stinking cute is that? The tall cylinder vase is stuffed full of wrapped candy canes.

A little tip... Glitter was flaking off the paper like crazy so I sprayed it down with aerosol hairspray. It didn't completely stop glitter from falling off but it helped a lot. The same trick is used to set charcoal and pastel artwork.

Wow! What a fun and festive mantel! It is all so well done and I just love the pops of color! But, I especially loved sneaking a peek at your ceiling and your subtle damask wall treatment. Fabulous! Thanks so much for joining the Inspiration Friday party this week and for becoming a new friend here in blogland!Vanessa